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2130 Arapahoe Ave, Boulder, CO 80302

About Naropa University

Founded in 1974, Naropa University is a private, non-profit, liberal arts college located in Boulder, Colorado, United States. Naropa Univesity is named for the 11th century Indian Buddhist sage Naropa, an abbot of Nalanda. In 1988, Naropa University was accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, making the college the first Buddhist-inspired academic institution to receive United States regional accreditation.

Naropa University offers contemplative education, including activities such as Christian labyrinth, taijiquan, meditation, the Japanese tea ceremony, ikebana, and neo-pagan ritual, to develop students' abilities to think critically, to communicate well, and to know their minds and hearts.

Naropa University provides a wide range of undergraduate and graduate degree programs, where students are allowed to choose for a double-major, or to customize their studies in the Interdisciplinary Studies program.

Additional information

Heiress Patty Hearst was kidnapped early that year. The world population reached 4 billion. And the country was embroiled in the Watergate Scandal that would bring down President Richard Nixon.

It was in this atmosphere that the Naropa Institute offered its first two summer sessions in an old bus depot in Boulder, Colorado. Faculty included Kobun Chino Roshi, Allen Ginsberg, Anne Waldman, Ram Das, Gary Snyder, Herbert Guenther, Joan Halifax, John Cage, Gregory Bateson, plus other famous writers, performers, and scholars.

More than 1,500 students attended, twice as many as had been anticipated.

Allen Ginsberg, Anne Waldman, John Cage, and Diane di Prima founded the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at the Naropa Institute.

"It was a wild night. It was also the night Nixon resigned, and some of the townspeople may have come thinking it was a party to celebrate that. Also, it being a college town and the evening being billed as a 'Concert with John Cage,' some people may have thought they could just all join in and sing along. The energy was insane, people were throwing cushions around."

—Anne Waldman

1975

Naropa’s first year-round degree program started, a Master of Arts in Psychology, based on Trungpa’s Maitri teachings.

1976

Naropa begins offering B.A. degrees in Buddhist Studies and Visual Art, the M.A. in Psychology, an M.F.A. in Visual Art and Expressive Arts, as well as certificates in Dance, Theater, and Poetics.

1977

Judith Simmer-Brown joins the Buddhist Studies faculty.

"The only faculty member who had an office was Reggie (who was head of the faculty), but the rest of the teachers were pretty much on the streets. I took a booth at the New York Deli, and I was there for four years. [...] I was there three mornings a week in a booth, and that's where I met with students."

—Judith Simmer-Brown

1983

Naropa receives a $1 million anonymous gift to fund its endowment. The donor was later revealed to be Martha Bonzi.

1986

Naropa receives its accreditation from the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.

1999

The Naropa Institute formally adopts the name Naropa University.

Naropa establishes a Center for the Advancement of Contemplative Education to support faculty and provide an international resource for research and collaboration on Contemplative Education.

2015

Naropa acquires the intellectual property and physical assets of the Boulder College of Massage Therapy with the goal of launching a massage therapy school.

The university also opened Naropa Community Counseling, a center offering affordable therapy services to low- and middle-income clients in Boulder County and launched its Authentic Leadership Center, offering mindfulness programs, workshops, and training to leaders worldwide.

Naropa University also provides apartment style on-campus housing, the apartments come with fully furnished living areas and bedrooms, a full kitchen, open courtyard, and closet. Other facilities include coin-op laundry facility, wireless internet, meeting space, and a meditation room.

According to the Forbes Magazine, Boulder is named the most Educated City in America. Students could hike the Boulder Mountain Park trail, dine at the downtown's restaurants and cafes, visit to the Chautauqua Auditorium and Pearl Street Mall etc. Boulder holds a wide range of cultural events at the Fox Theatre and Boulder Theater, as well as the Red Rocks Park and Amphitheater, which is a short drive away. Denver International Airport is the nearest airport, different buses and vans operate between Boulder and the airport, which only takes around 60-80 minutes.

We ask you to fill out and send in the appropriate housing form and deposit ($300) by December 15. Your rent for the semester and activities fee will be included with your tuition bill. In order to complete the housing process:

Be a full-time student for 2015 - 2016.

Pay admissions deposit ($250).

Complete your housing application online (please note you will have to login using your MyNaropa username and password).

Pay the nonrefundable housing deposit ($300) which will be held for the extent of your stay at Snow Lion. All of your cleaning and room damage charges will be deducted from your deposit at the end of your stay. Checks or money orders should be made payable to "Naropa University" and can be mailed to:

You can also pay by phone with a credit card by calling the Tuition Cashier at 303-546-3554.

You can also pay your deposit online here.

Your housing deposit will be refunded if you decide not to attend Naropa or if you decide not to live at Snow Lion (open housing students only) if you notify housing by July 31. If you do not show up on move-in day or do not contact us regarding your change of housing plans, your deposit will be forfeited.

A housing confirmation packet will be emailed to you during the summer. This confirmation packet will provide you with more details to prepare and support you in planning for move-in day.

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